A Deadly Flower
by CrypticMoonman
Summary: A continuation of the Study Series  after Fire Study  by Maria V. Snyder from an original character's point of view, where Valek is challenged by a Sitian Assassin and Yelena falls victim to some suspicious events.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Out of the way people, coming through!" I yelled at the men guarding the border between Sitia and Ixia. As I barrelled towards them on my horse, Liza, I watched the guard's expression turn from shocked surprise, to scared shitless; they knew I wasn't going to stop. I thought that the soldiers would jump to the sides to get out of my way, and most of them did, but there was one who stood his ground.

I drew my sword as I got off my horse; I intended to get around him one way or another. As the man in front of me stepped forward, I got a better look at him. He had short hair, a goatee and was missing part of his right ear. His skin was bright orange; probably the result of a bad tan. The other thing that I noticed about the man was that he was wearing the uniform of the second in command to the Ixian Assassin Valek. This was going to be… interesting.

"Who are you?" The man with the missing ear asked.

"Jasmine…_ sir_," I replied with my usual cockiness and a mocking salute. The man kept looking me over, checking to see whether I was lying or treating him like he was an idiot.

"Well, _Jasmine_," He replied in a sarcastic voice, "The border between Ixia and Sitia is no place for someone to be travelling alone. I would think that someone crossing the border would have guards… unless she is running from them." He frowned at me with a curious glint in his eyes.

"You seem to be assuming quite a bit. Neither of those are things I would even consider doing. You see, the reason I don't have any official guards, is because I killed them-"

And that's when the fight started.

His quick jabs and blocks let me identify not only what his fighting style was, but who the man himself was. If I remember correctly from my list of 'Great Ixian Heroes and Heroines', then this person was Janco, one of the three people in the world who had bested Valek in a fight.

As I stepped forward to end the fight with a blow to Janco's head with the flat of my sword that would have left him concussed, he flipped over the top of me and threw a dart at my neck. As the dart pierced my skin, I knew the fight was over, and that I was not the victor. The drug started to paralyse my muscles. "Oh Shit," I mumbled before my face muscles froze… it was curare.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

How? How could I have been so ignorant? He was one of Valek's seconds, of course he would be carrying darts laced with curare. What kind of assassin am I? I might as well be Santa Claus, sneaking around, giving children teddy bears and toys! Ughh.

The sound of a key being turned took my mind off of mentally scolding myself. As the heavy dungeon door opened, the light from outside temporarily blinded me, making me feel nauseous and dizzy. The curare still lingered in my body. I couldn't even scream as the guards attached a chain to the metal collar around my neck, and dragged me up the rough stairs. The guards didn't even stop when I started moaning from where my legs had been scraped by the rough stairs when the curare wore off. My whole body felt like one big bruise. As I stumbled down the corridor, I saw where I was… I was in the commanders' castle in MD-6.

That was impossible; I crossed the border at MD-5. It would have taken at least 3 days to get from there to the commanders castle. Including my time spent asleep in the dungeon, I must have been unconscious for about 4 days.

My guards led me to a room that had papers and books scattered all over the floor and roughly shoved me inside. A voice came from a man sitting in a leather chair behind a desk littered with grey rocks and shining, black animal statues, "You have been brought to the commanders' castle for crossing the border illegally and unchaperoned. Then you tried to kill one of my seconds. Not a very nice thing to do is it?" He said, looking down at my file on the desk, not even acknowledging me by looking at my face. So this was the infamous Valek. My first impression of him was that he didn't like to say much, and he had a very angular face. When he finally looked at me, his sapphire eyes almost burnt a hole through my head.

"So, Jasmine, why are you in Ixia?"

"How do you know my name, Valek?" I asked sweetly.

He replied to my comment in a monotone, "I could ask you the same question."

I decided that I should just tell him my real reason for coming to Ixia. "Well, how do I put this? I am here, in Ixia, to best you Valek. Whether you choose to believe it or not, that is the real reason that I am in this cold, depressing country."

"So let me get this right," he replied, "You are here to beat me in my challenge. I will let you stay as a guest in this castle and try to win my challenge, but before you are allowed to fight me, you must first fight and beat all of my second in command's."

"Fine," I said, even though I wasn't very happy.

"My servant Margg will show you to your room and how to find the baths, kitchen and laundry. You're dismissed." Valek said in his usual icy voice, ending all hopes of further conversation. The guards came in and released me from my manacles, leaving my raw wrists, ankles and neck sticky with blood.


End file.
